Siberian Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus

Video Statistics and Information

Video
Captions Word Cloud
Reddit Comments

He's obviously NOT Jesus...he doesn't even speak English!

👍︎︎ 10 👤︎︎ u/hot_bologna 📅︎︎ Jan 12 2017 🗫︎ replies

In the Jerusalem there's actually a clinic for people who come and say they're the Messiah or Jesus coming back. If causing enough uproar they can be ordered there. Weirdest thing, if they have it, must be the waiting room. Hi, who are you? The new Messiah. And you? Me too!

👍︎︎ 4 👤︎︎ u/oj88 📅︎︎ Jan 12 2017 🗫︎ replies

Wolf in sheep's clothing at it's finest.

👍︎︎ 2 👤︎︎ u/blvkvintage 📅︎︎ Jan 12 2017 🗫︎ replies

Makes you wonder if there's anything going on beneath the surface.

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/[deleted] 📅︎︎ Jan 12 2017 🗫︎ replies
Captions
[CHORAL MUSIC PLAYING] ROCCO CASTORO: There is a place in Russia where people have discovered the secret of living in perfect harmony. A place where the children run free, where the Earth provides everything you need, and where money is meaningless. Welcome to the Church of the Last Testament. This is Petropavlovka, a small settlement located deep within the Taiga Forest of Siberia, over 100 miles away from the nearest town. It looks like an elf village at, like, a putt-putt course. About 20 years ago a handful of disciples came here to worship and live with Vissarion, or "the teacher," as he is commonly known. Today, Vissarion's Church of the Last Testament has over 5,000 followers from all around the world. About 2,000 live here and in the surrounding areas. [SINGING IN RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: I came here in hopes of meeting the man himself, who hasn't granted an interview to the media in at least three years. VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Two decades ago, that man was known as Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop, a 29-year-old patrol officer who suddenly had a revelation that his was the word of God. VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Conveniently, this realization happened right around the time the Soviet Union, a self-proclaimed nation of atheists, began to crumble, and religion became an acceptable topic of discussion in Russia. He soon began writing the Last Testament, a 12-volume follow-up of sorts to the New Testament, which details the religion's major tenets and provides answers to some of life's most mundane questions, such as which brand of detergent you should use. Labeled a dangerous cult by some, it has been reported that Vissarion and his followers believe in aliens, think suicide is A-OK, and believe that the end of the world is imminent. There are rules here that I was warned about-- no cussing, no tobacco, no alcohol, no meat. I believe it's all vegan. I've got to watch my mouth because I have a dirty mouth. And I like meat, I like drugs, sometimes. There's none of that here, so it's going be good to dry up. I was invited here by one of the church's more recent converts, a 24-year-old woman named Tamriko, who worked as a lawyer in Moscow before moving here three months ago. She now works the German House, a sort of guest house for the spiritually curious. Why don't you give me a little history of how you got here? TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: When I first heard about the teacher, it was me like this kind of thing that-- wow. It was like, this is the only source of all information, of all answers, and this is a real teacher of the truth about the world. And so-- ROCCO CASTORO: Something feels-- TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: And sometimes you need answers. You need, just, answers. ROCCO CASTORO: Answers, yeah. TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: And somebody will explain you, like, everything. He will explain your life. Why are you doing this. Why you have some problems-- problems with your health, problems with your life. For what purpose, actually, you are living. ROCCO CASTORO: I see. And one of the things that a lot of people have said is like, oh, it's a cult. You know? How do you feel about that? It has a bad connotation. TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: Usually, I don't think anything about this. Do you know why? Because I think that if some people find that this person can help them, and they want to pray to this person, why not? ROCCO CASTORO: OK, yeah. TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: Why not, it's very good. ROCCO CASTORO: Is there anything that you perhaps disagree with here, with-- TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: Here? ROCCO CASTORO: --the teaching. With teachings, you know? TAMRIKO DGEBUADZE: No, no, no, no. ROCCO CASTORO: OK. Disagreeing with Vissarion's teachings is rare, which became very apparent after meeting Tanya, a patron of the local girls school-- a place where young ladies go to learn "the discipline," as she put it. Is part of the lesson plan set aside for study of the teacher? TANYA DENISOVA: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: So, do you ever have strong girls that maybe resist, and they're not so with that line of thinking? TANYA DENISOVA: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] TANYA DENISOVA: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: As tempting as brainwashing my girlfriend into misogynistic slavery sounded, I had mountains to climb and deities to meet. I had been invited to celebrate the Holiday of Good Fruits at the Abode of Dawn, a small mountaintop community where Vissarion and his closest followers live. I stopped at the general store to get supplies for the hike. So I have the luxury, after a 40-hour trip, of eating a CCC pop, We just bought provisions for two days. This is kind of the treat before-- I don't even know if I'm supposed to be eating this, to be honest. I don't know what Vissarion's stance is on candy and ice pops. But it's hot, so. Mmm. I climbed into a Soviet-era bread loaf and begin the bumpy drive up the hill. And we've got a good crew, just materialized here at the base of the mountain. Looks like we're about ready to go. My hiking companions had traveled from Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, and beyond, all in hopes of catching even a glimpse of the elusive Vissarion. MALE SPEAKER 1: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Along the way, I met Maciek, a university student from Poland. What did you come here seeking? ROCCO CASTORO: [LAUGH]. We made it to what appeared to be a border crossing, and the attendant took down our details. MALE SPEAKER 2: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Yes. Our guide, Nina, led me to the place where I'd be staying for the next two nights-- the home of a lovely Russian family who immediately offered me cold vegetable soup and bread. FEMALE SPEAKER 1: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Vissarion's serene gaze watched over us as we ate our blessed meal, spiritually charging us for the upcoming nighttime liturgy. We're going to go see what worship is like here. I feel like I'm kind of in a different world, to be honest. [SINGING IN RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: The pre-holiday liturgy didn't seem too different from a Christian Mass. But I would come to find out that things weren't that simple here. Still, all the followers had been very pleasant so far. Only a few seemed to have the crazy stare of a cult member. I ran into Maciek and asked him how he was settling in. So how have the accommodations been? MACIEJ RAFINSIC: What accommodations-- very, very well. I met nice people. We had a nice conversation. And then they asked me, when did I accept the teacher and his teachings. And I said, well, I'm not really a follower. And then there was, like, a minute of silence-- second of silence. And it felt uneasy. But they got over it. But I think they felt a little disappointed. ROCCO CASTORO: [CHUCKLE], OK. And are you-- they have our passports. MACIEJ RAFINSIC: I know. ROCCO CASTORO: [INAUDIBLE]. Are you a little concerned about that? MACIEJ RAFINSIC: I am. It's like, you know-- yeah, so I don't want to be insulting, but you come to the place which is far away from anywhere in the world. You come to people who are known to be members of a cult, of a religious group of-- ROCCO CASTORO: [LAUGH] MACIEJ RAFINSIC: --of some sort, now. Let's put it like this. And then they take your passport away straight when you-- ROCCO CASTORO: And they were pretty-- MACIEJ RAFINSIC: They are pretty persistent about that. ROCCO CASTORO: Yeah. Physically and spiritually exhausted from my long journey, I turned in for the night to rest up for the Holiday of Good Fruits and our first glimpse of Vissarion. MALE SPEAKER 3: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Today is August 18, which is the high holy day of the year-- the Holiday of Good Fruits, the Church of the Last Testament's most important holiday. Basically, it's their Easter. It was on this day in 1990 when Vissarion first realized his divine connection to God and established his church. It's the reason that thousands of Vissarionites from around the world have gathered here today. MALE SPEAKER 3: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: We began our ritualistic procession up the mountain, a five-hour journey replete with ceremonial washing-- that felt good-- mood music, and supremely positive vibes. [SINGING IN RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Looking back, I think it was supposed to serve as a sort of mental palate cleanser for what lay ahead. Up the mountain we go. Part of the reason I wanted to come here-- the world seems to be in a pretty bad way right now. This seems to be an idyllic community, so maybe Vissarion has some answers for us on how we could better live our lives. Or maybe he's just got it right, and people should come here. They're actually pretty good musicians. Oh wow, beautiful. I found a little friend in this hole here, watching us. He looks very surprised, like us. Wide-eyed. Stopping again for another hymn. Something happened to me while I was walking up the mountain. Was I experiencing the initial stages of indoctrination? Everything looked so beautiful. And the people seemed so happy. I began to wish that I could be more like them. Slava, another in a long line of guides/minders, didn't want me to miss the site where the site where Vissarion literally left his mark on mother nature. SLAVA TKACHENKO: The teacher, when the first time on this mountain, take your hands on this stone. And after we turned the stone, we see this letter, it was the first letter of his name-- Jesus. In Russia, kha, letter kha. You may see it. ROCCO CASTORO: Yeah, we should see. Is it OK for me to touch? SLAVA TKACHENKO: Russian kha. ROCCO CASTORO: Kha. SLAVA TKACHENKO: Christos. In English, Jesus. ROCCO CASTORO: Christos. It's there. [NERVOUS LAUGH] While the rest of the followers gathered around the stage where Vissarion would soon give his sermon, Slava took us to visit the monastery for young boys. A trampoline. [LAUGH] SLAVA TKACHENKO: For jumping. ROCCO CASTORO: I'll jump. [LAUGH] NINA: Andrei is the master of those boys. ROCCO CASTORO: Of all the boys. Why do you live here? Why did you come here? ANDREI ANATOLEVICH: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: We sat down with 17-year-old Ivan, who, among other things, was learning the "masculine professions." IVAN KOZLOVSKY: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: How long have you been living at the monastery? IVAN KOZLOVSKY: Two years. ROCCO CASTORO: Two years. And how do like it? IVAN KOZLOVSKY: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: What's your favorite thing to do during the day? IVAN KOZLOVSKY: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Are you planning on starting a family soon? IVAN KOZLOVSKY: [LAUGHING]. [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] [LAUGHTER] ROCCO CASTORO: Do you have in mind a, maybe, a potential wife? No? [LAUGH], OK. That's it. We'll stop there. [RUSSIAN]. IVAN KOZLOVSKY: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: [LAUGH] Beautiful. Wow, that's amazing. You can see they're clearing out this side over here. Perhaps to build more housing. Their numbers are continually growing. I see why people stay, though. It's very beautiful. People who are interested in joining the community and living here, is there anything that one must do to become part of the community? Or can you just come and live here? ANDREI ANATOLEVICH: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: If I moved here, I'm an editor and a writer, so, I'd have to learn Russian. But perhaps I could help with that? NINA: [LAUGH], You will be welcome. ANDREI ANATOLEVICH: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Hmm, a place where negative characters don't exist. That sounded pretty good to me. Clean energy? Healthy living? Virgin brides? I started wondering if the Abode of Dawn could be that place for me. Here we go. I'm going to hurt myself. [LAUGHTER] ROCCO CASTORO: And then, finally, it was time for us to get our first glimpse of the teacher himself. [SINGING IN RUSSIAN] MALE SPEAKER 3: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN OVER LOUDSPEAKER] Any moment, now, Vissarion's going to descend from the stairs and address everyone here. And as you can see, everyone's eagerly anticipating it. I have not doubt in my mind that they believe he is God. And it's interesting and kind of scary, too, to see so many people have so much faith in one man, or god. MALE SPEAKER 3: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN OVER LOUDSPEAKER] [SINGING IN RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: We had traveled thousands of miles to the middle of nowhere in Siberia to see this man, Vissarion, address his congregation on what they call the Holiday of Good Fruits. It was sort of spooky. [WHISPERING] Vissarion's making his way down now, very slowly. Very Christ-like. [SINGING CONTINUES] ROCCO CASTORO: And just as Vissarion was about to share some infallible nuggets of wisdom-- VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: --they made us turn off the camera. After giving a short sermon in hushed tones, Vissarion blessed bread made by the community for the ensuing feast and bid his followers farewell. CONGREGATION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: So we just have finished the sermon with the teacher. And Nina's going to translate a little bit for us of what was said. NINA: I remember exactly his first phrase-- "I'm glad that you still survive." Because everybody was laughing. And then he spoke about that we, all of us, are pupils-- ROCCO CASTORO: Pupils, yeah. NINA: --in the school of life. ROCCO CASTORO: "We are all peoples in the school of life"? I guess that's true. But I'm not sure it provided me with any answers. We're going to see if we can interview some pilgrims. Some people that came to see Vissarion from afar. What is your feelings about Vissarion? FEMALE SPEAKER 3: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Why did you make the journey here today? MALE SPEAKER 4: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: How did you first hear about the teacher? MALE SPEAKER 5: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Compared to years past, does he seem happy? Does he seem in good spirits? MALE SPEAKER 6: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: After the liturgy, we ran into our Polish friend, Maciek. ROCCO CASTORO: How do you feel? I mean, do you feel that there's something about him that's beyond human? MACIEJ RAFINSIC: I don't want to insult anybody, but I don't, no. I feel it's an interesting place and an interesting person. And I think these people around me want to live a good life. And I do appreciate that. But I don't perceive him as divine. ROCCO CASTORO: After mingling with some members of the congregation, I headed to bed to rest up for the next day and my big interview with Vissarion. There's a lot of stars tonight. I was talking with Slava about the beautiful and clear nighttime sky, when he told me that stars weren't the only things up there. ROCCO CASTORO: You've seen UFOs? ROCCO CASTORO: What did it look like? ROCCO CASTORO: Three spheres. Yeah, OK. ROCCO CASTORO: See it too? The next morning, we got up bright and early and took a secret path to Vissarion's home. So we're finally here at the teacher's house. And we're going to interview a man that many people believe to be the word of god. I suddenly became very anxious about my meeting with the teacher. What if I actually had an audience with someone who is the word, and perhaps flesh, of god? [INAUDIBLE] Why did you agree to an interview with me? Because I know that you haven't for quite a bit. VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: [LAUGH] Are you regretting it now? OK. I want to know about Russia. Was it a coincidence, or was it just happenstance that this community came to be around the same time as the fall of the Soviet Union? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: I think I understood what he was saying. But I was struggling with how to tactfully ask someone who looks like Jesus if he's the Son of God without coming out and saying it. You're very Christ-like in your appearance. I'll say it this way-- do you have memories of Christ from 2,000 years ago? Do you carry on in that way, in that lineage? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: That's probably as close to a yes as I was going to get. It seems like the world is-- there's lots of riots. There's uprisings. Is the turmoil and conflict in the world right now worse than you've experienced? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Was Vissarion talking about Armageddon? Naturally, I was curious as to when that might happen. Is that coming soon? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: Talk about dancing around the subject. I switched gears, and, remembering Slava's extraterrestrial encounter, asked him about the church's stance on what they call "the outer space mind." VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: I have to admit, Vissarion lost me somewhere in between the end times and soulless aliens. Still, I could see how his followers could really get into this stuff. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than Adam and Eve and the crucifixion. The teacher's handlers signalled that it was time to wrap up. But I was determined to slip in a few simple questions that, with any luck, would be answered in a straightforward manner. How about food. What's your favorite dish to eat? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: A man without penchant-- which apparently extended to answering questions in a fashion that I could understand. But this was my last shot. At the very least, maybe I could glean something about the purity of my own being. Just meeting me briefly, can you tell me anything about myself? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: [LAUGH] I'd say-- So last question. If you could tell one piece of advice that our viewers here could follow relatively easily, what would it be? VISSARION: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] ROCCO CASTORO: OK. I'm not sure if I was supposed to or not, but there is no way I was leaving without a photo. So I hopped right in there. [RUSSIAN]. So we've finished our journey here, and going back to New York City, and pollution, and terrible people. In other words, all the things that I find weirdly comforting. What can I say? I'm a man of modern convenience. But if it ever gets too much for me, if the scum of humanity becomes so sticky and viscous that I can't scrub it off, I know there's a place where I can drop out and be at peace. And the next time someone complains to me that everything sucks, or our problems are unsolvable, I'll just tell them-- there's this place you can go in Siberia where they'll accept you with open arms. A place where the children run free, where the earth provides everything you need. And where money-- [SINGING IN RUSSIAN]
Info
Channel: VICE
Views: 16,676,758
Rating: 4.2144074 out of 5
Keywords: jesus, cult, siberia, cult leader, atheist, atheism, vissarion, religion, christ, god, faith, praise, pray, prayer, church, christian, christianity, holy, spirit, conspiracy theories, jesus in siberia, hell, heaven, lord, russia, culture, wild, lifestyle, global, world, exclusive, Independent, underground, travel, videos, journalism, VICE guide, VICE Presents, VICE news, vbs, vbsdottv, vbs.tv, vice.com, VICE, VICE magazine, VICE mag, VICE videos, VICEVIDEOS, documentary, documentaries, funny videos, dio, gospel, rocco castoro
Id: W2Cv5hZfOmk
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 25min 48sec (1548 seconds)
Published: Wed May 16 2012
Related Videos
Note
Please note that this website is currently a work in progress! Lots of interesting data and statistics to come.